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Preserving Mountain Top’s history is society’s mission

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The community of Mountain Top, founded in 1788, will celebrate its 230th anniversary this year. Unfortunately, the anniversary is not something too many people are aware of, even though there is a historical marker along Route 309 in Fairview Twp. proclaiming the year Mountain Top was founded.

The problem is, because of its location, very few people notice the sign, and even fewer can read it.

The placement of that sign is one of the things the newly reorganized Mountain Top Historical Society wants to address. Officers of the society met during November and December to lay the groundwork for the reorganization of the group that was incorporated in 2002. A public meeting was held last week at Cavanaugh’s Grille and nearly 25 residents from across Mountain Top turned out.

“I’ve never seen that many people at one of our meetings,” society president Scott Hilenski remarked. “Everyone was so enthusiastic. They want to do things. That’s so refreshing,” he offered.

Among the issues discussed at the meeting was the keystone-shaped historical marker which proclaims: “Mountain Top, so named from location on Mountain Top. Founded 1788.” The blue sign is affixed to a pole located on Robert’s Lane, about 25 feet east of the lane’s intersection with the northbound lane of Route 309. Members of the group would like to get the sign moved to a more visible location along the highway, preferably near the top of the mountain. “It’s one of the first things we’d like to do,” Hilenski related. Some members of the society have already offered to contact Fairview Twp. officials to see if the sign can be moved to a more visible location.

In addition to moving the historical marker, participants at the public meeting talked about finding a permanent home for the organization; building a portable display case; re-printing Mountain Top post cards, a Mountain Top puzzle and Mountain Top Monopoly board game; and getting the several books on Mountain Top history back into circulation for public sale.

“They want to do things and they are serious about getting things done,” Hilenski said of the society’s members.

He noted that the idea of a display case was discussed at one of the early reorganization planning sessions and at last week’s meeting, society secretary Pam Kirn arrived with a shadow-box style display case featuring historical items from Fairview High School. It was suggested the case could be used for display information on various topics throughout the year.

Society treasurer Christopher Madden has offered to work on placing copies of the society’s nine books in local outlets for sale to the community.

Its first book, “Pieces of the Past, A History of the Mountain Top Area,” was published in 2002. The production of the book, and the formation of the society, was the result of a project started by Crestwood High School students.

Former Crestwood High School art teacher Robert Gaetano is credited with coming up with the idea for a history of Mountain Top. As a school project, Gaetano challenged a class of gifted students to research the history of Mountain Top. As part of the project, they invited members of the community to a round-table discussion on the history of Mountain Top.

Among those who attended that first meeting was the late Redmond “Red” Lines, who brought pictures and information about the history of Mountain Top. After the initial meeting, a decision was made to publish a book. Former Crestwood High School English teacher Jim Keiser (who was at last week’s meeting) helped with proofreading and editing.

The historical society was formally incorporated in 2002. William Androckitis, who along with Lines and Ivan Pettit, helped publish the first book, was elected the society’s first president. Other officers were: Ivan Pettit, vice president; Silvia Pettit, secretary, and Cathy Malkemes, treasurer. Lines eventually took over as president of the society, a post he held until his death in 2016.

Hilenski said the club was dormant the last few years due to a lack of membership.

The purpose of the society, according to its by-laws, is to “promote and engage in the process of preserving the history of Mountain Top for future generations; to do so by education and participation among its members and the general public.”

Hilenski said he hopes to focus on community participation and education. “We want to make this a living thing,” he offered. In addition to Hilenski, officers of the organization include: Steve McGinnis, vice president; Kirn and Madden.

The society has an active Facebook page thanks to the efforts of Tracey Cornelius and is working on revising its web page. The society president noted membership is open to anyone in Mountain Top, including Fairview, Wright, Rice, Dorrance and Slocum townships, Nuangola Borough and Wapwallopen. Membership fee is $15 annually.

The next meeting is set for 7 p.m. Feb. 26. Tentative location is the Fairview Twp. Municipal Building.

Pat Rushton writes about Mountain Top. contact him at pat4psu@msn.com.

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